


Shave too Close

by RebornFromSeas



Series: We all have monsters in our memories; some of us might be them still [5]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Awkward not-flirting-flirting, Feelings Are Confusing, Gen, M/M, Mollymauk got told Caleb's backstory, Mollymauk is pining, Series of Oneshots, Shaving, This is getting pretty far into canon divergence post Labenda Swamp, Yasha's there for moral support, You'll probably need to read those to understand this, domestic intimacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 07:03:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15019259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebornFromSeas/pseuds/RebornFromSeas
Summary: Mollymauk has been craving a chance to talk to Caleb alone ever since he learned his history - not to question him, but possibly to be closer friends, or sort out what his emotions are doing.  He's not expecting the next chance to involve Caleb shaving.





	Shave too Close

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone is actually _following_ this series, I'm terribly sorry for how long this took to write. Travel+getting slammed with a cold does not a productive writer make.

Molly sighed into his tankard of ale, relieved that they had finally made it to a town with a proper place to stay under a warm roof. Yasha was beside him, drinking what he could only assume was her usual preference for the crappiest beer available, and the rest of the Mighty Nein were scattered across three tables nearest the fireplaces. Caleb was one of the closest to the fire, using the good light from it to study spell books as he was prone to doing. Molly grinned when he noticed that he was using the new pens, his hand wandered up to his forehead.

“Why have you been doing that whenever you’re looking at him,” Yasha asked.

Molly gasped, sucking in some of his ale, and coughed hard. “It’s – Shit. Look, it’s –” Molly barely got the words out before the coughing fit continued again. He waited until he could breathe easy again and let out a long sigh. “If I say I want him to kiss me there?”

Yasha blinked. “I’d say that he doesn’t seem like the type to do that. Not like you and I do it. Not unless he...” she waved her hand vaguely, then finished “not without court…ship.” She gave Molly one of her looks, one of the uncertain ones.

He nodded, “that does sound like him, yes.”

“Do you want to court him then? You've never seemed interested in that before.”

“Gods, Yasha, I know even less about those things than you do. But I'll take being closer friends to him than I am.” Molly sighed again and pushed back his hair before taking a long swig of his drink. “And I'm not even sure what that means.”

Yasha shrugged, “I think it means you’re going to follow him upstairs. I'll talk to Nott and Beau for a bit, okay?”

Molly straightened and looked up at her words, blinking at the sight of Caleb packing up his books. That was a surprise. He cleared his throat and gave an absent nod to Yasha, “Yes that seems – entirely likely. Yes.” He wasn’t sure about heading up after Caleb immediately, and after hesitating, lifted his tankard and drank it down. 

Yasha patted his shoulder gently and headed over to Beau, sitting close.

Caleb was upstairs by the time Molly finished his drink and set his empty tankard down. He wished the words buzzing in his head would settle down into one phrase to say or ask when he got up there, but they wouldn’t. He sighed, glanced to the others, then headed up the stairs. He didn’t rush and was caught off guard by Caleb coming out of his room, a box under his arm, but no coat or books in sight. 

Caleb looked at him and nodded in a vague greeting. 

Molly cleared his throat, “fancy that, I was going to ask if everything was alright?”

“Ah, ja, ja. Beau got me a proper shaving kit, I was going to see if I remembered how to do this.”

Molly but his lip and nodded. He forgot what he had wanted to say.

The silence stretched, until Caleb said, “actually, it is probably good you're here, in case I make a very bad mistake.”

Mollymauk met Caleb's blue eyes in a heartbeat, saw the humor in them and laughed. “Absolutely, I won't be letting you die with such indignity.” He grinned and pulled off the ivory heart amulet and dangled it out to Caleb. “Take it for now.”

“Thank you. This is appreciated, but you’re still welcome to – ah – keep me company, I suppose?” Caleb gave one of those small little genuine smiles that made Molly’s chest go tight, then slipped the Periapt of wound closure over his neck. He turned and headed to the inn’s washroom, leaving Mollymauk following behind in mild surprise.

This, this would be terrible, and interesting. It had been a while since he’d seen Caleb clean shaven, but damn if that memory didn’t stick. Watching that happen? Well. Mollymauk was down for that, he’d never seen it done and had never needed to shave himself. It was only a shame that having a blade so close to Caleb’s throat seemed like it would limit conversation. He sat down on a stool as Caleb opened the box and started setting up his shaving kit. 

Molly found the process fascinating, especially because Caleb moved with calm precision. There was a rhythm to every motion, it seemed, a time for everything to be done and for all the things to be stacked together efficiently. Soak the brush and the wet the soap, hang the strop and heat the water, splash his face with warm water then lather the soap onto his cheeks. He paused there, sighed, then picked up the strop and did… something to it. Molly wasn’t sure what rubbing his forearm against the leather like that did, but those questions went out the window when Caleb picked up the razor.

Mollymauk leaned forward, eager to see the magic happen. Except, except, paused when he put the razor on the strop and looked up into the mirror, meeting Molly’s eyes with his blue. It felt – like a flash of heat curling into him, even from this distance. He swallowed.

Caleb cleared his throat, “You’ve been, ahhh, much quieter around me since I told you about... my past. Is… that is, I appreciated you being serious then, but you do not always need to be around me.”

Molly almost choked on air. Gods, he loved Caleb, but the man could be painfully awkward and awkwardly wrong. “I’m definitely not trying to be serious. I’m just –” he waved at Caleb vaguely and said, “fascinated by this whole thing. Shaving isn’t something I’ve had to do in memory. But, well, if you want me talking, can I ask how those pens are working out?”

Caleb let out a soft almost-laugh and almost-smiled too. “I like them. They write well.” He paused his speech and started moving the razor up and down the strop, counting, and Molly held his tongue. He was rewarded when Caleb finished with a bit more, “I wanted to thank you for them again, more sincerely.”

Mollymauk sat up and shook his head, jewelry clinking softly, “No, no need for that now. It didn’t go as I planned, not that I’d honestly had one at that point, and it was all the worse for the fact I’d forgotten why I suspected you for skimming.”

Caleb hummed, rinsed the lather off his face and pulled out a clean cloth, then lathered his face again. “I thought you were only using it as an excuse to show pity – It’s clearly not, I realize – but considering you thought I found all the money I gave to Jester on those bodies I couldn’t think of why you’d apologize for that confrontation.”

“Didn’t you? Jester certainly thinks you gave her all the money you found.”

Caleb gave a small nod, “I did, and I added fifteen gold of my own.”

Molly wasn’t sure what to say to that, it twisted guilt around in his gut to realize his mistake and he’d already apologized, so he changed the subject, “Why did you lather your face twice?”

“Ah – um – the lather softens things, my beard, so that when I start shaving it’s easier. If I was in a proper place for this, I would use a hot damp towel for it instead.”

“Oh. Huh. That makes sense. I won’t ask anything else, so go right ahead. I might Ramble a bit, miss the circus, y’know, but feel free to ignore me.” 

Caleb let out a breathy laugh, then brought the razor up and started actually shaving.

Molly smiled, oddly delighted at the sight of fresh skin being revealed by the careful motions of dangerously sharp metal, then launched into one of his many stories of the circus. Orna almost setting one of the Knot sisters on fire during a rehearsal. It was actually true, and one of those stories he’s told so many times since it happened that he could just let his mouth spin the tale and his mind wander as it would. Or, in this case, fixated on watching Caleb’s delicate strokes and slow, steady removal of his beard.

It was really odd – he wouldn’t have thought the circus had room for personal grooming to really remain personal, but he really had never seen anyone shave like this. Fjord always tried to do it out of sight, and other than Yasha shaving people with swords – but even that wasn’t like this, wasn’t as steady and almost rhythmic with the motions. 

Somehow, this was just more intimate as well. The two of them paying attention to this one task. To Caleb grooming himself to his own preference. It’s… intimate. It’s impossibly intimate. 

Molly blinked and shifted on the stool, at that thought, then noted that he had stopped talking at some point between Caleb cleaning off one cheek and shifting to his neck. He didn’t want to start talking again, either. It felt too much like speaking would shift whatever razor-edge they balanced on that allowed them to share this.

He was too curious to do that, too fascinated. Especially since Caleb was not there type to share such closeness without a reason. Mollymauk didn't want to know what it was yet, so he curled one leg up, leaned on it, and kept his mouth shut.

Caleb had gotten his second cheek when he stopped and looked over his shoulder at Molly. “Is this… Alright? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

“I’m quite comfortable, actually. I don’t really feel the need to talk right now. That does happen sometimes, you know.”

Caleb chuckled and nodded, “I can recall a few moments you choose that, ja.” Caleb checked his straight razor, and something about it tickled Mollymauk's mind. He sighed and straightened his posture as Caleb cleared his throat. “So, I have been going back and forth on this. On asking you… who do you think I should tell next?”

“Your past, you mean?”

“Ja.”

Molly sighed again and scratched behind his horns. “What have Nott and Beau said?”

“They both want me to tell Yasha.”

“Well, that's not a bad choice, but there is a problem there to my eyes. Yasha’s not the only one thinking about visiting Rexxentrum. Jester wants Fjord to go to the Academy and Fjord… well, matter of time before he decides to go after all. You've got three of us behind you, and Yasha’ll join in a heartbeat. I say tell them all, so we're all on the same page.”

Caleb froze between strokes with his razor. “Do you really believe it will be an issue soon?”

Molly shrugged, “We still have things to finish, thank the gods, but call it a hunch, it feels like we only have so long before we’ll end there.”

Caleb swore softly in zemnian, and quickened his work on his face. 

Molly sighed, “you don't have to do it tonight. Relax. You need to figure out of you’re going to say it like you did with the rest of us, or how it's going to be different anyway.”

Caleb hummed, slowed, and feel back into his careful rhythm. Mollymauk sighed and went back to enjoying this mundane sort of magic, that transmuted grime and facial hair into an unspoken trust and a face so handsome Molly could barely speak. Her lost track of time, but it couldn't have been that much longer for Caleb to finish and start putting away his kit. Mollymauk stood with a groan and headed to the door, only to be stopped by the warmth of Caleb’s hand settling on one of his shoulder. 

“Ah, Mr. Mollymauk, do not forget,” Caleb paused until Molly turned, then held up the periapt of wound closure. 

Molly chuckled and accepted it. “Right, that would have been bad.” He lifted the chain and went to put it on, but it caught on his horn piercings. “Shit.”

“Ah – let me?” Caleb lifted his hands, and Molly dropped his own. Caleb’s hands worked delicately, and in just a few moments, settled the chain around Molly’s neck properly. “There you are.”

Molly pressed a hand against the amulet and smiled at Caleb. “Thanks,” he said, “I’m not sure you – you got flustered, in the swamp? With everyone complimenting your shave, but I wanted – I just wanted to say, you do look good clean-shaven. You looked more settled in your skin I guess? Until everyone started saying things.” Molly clacked his teeth shut, because he was noticing how Caleb had gone tense in front of him with a smile nearly as strained as what he wore in the swamp. Mollymauk could only be grateful that he hadn’t ben looing Caleb in the eyes. “Sorry – Sorry, I know you don’t like being noticed and why. I’ll leave now.” He turned quickly and cursed himself for saying anything.

He knew, he knew, that Caleb hated his appearance being brought up and complimented, and there he had to go, saying that. He’d been enjoying the show of trust from him, the way they’d felt close, even without physical contact. Mollymauk wanted to be friends with Caleb, that meant no stepping on toes like that.

It was only as he went back to join the others in the tavern that he realized he never got around to asking if Caleb had actually kissed his forehead or not.


End file.
